Currently available gas-based detectors for explosives, hazardous chemicals, dangerous biological substances, or chemical/biological warfare substances have limited ability to detect multiple threats. For example, a single-target detector may be limited to one type of a particular reporter designed to respond to an analyte for a specific substance, such as a particular explosive or chemical. These detectors commonly have a short and limited operational period prior to replacement or servicing. Because a gas, such as an air sample, can carry more than one analyte from an explosive, a hazardous chemical, or a dangerous biological substance, multiple detectors are required for every use.
Government agencies involved in the inspection of transitory goods and/or people are usually responsible for the detection of explosives, hazardous chemicals or dangerous biological substances, or other contraband. These government agencies are looking for potentially masked or hidden dangerous substances that present a danger to the public. Using several different detectors with different reporters imposes a large logistical footprint and considerable consumable expense upon the governmental agencies. In practice, budgetary constraints force the governmental agency to purchase one or two detectors, each having a single reporter. Even if the governmental agency has several different detectors with different reporters, they may use only one detector to speed up the processing time of the transitory goods or people. The deployment of one type of detector over another means the agency is guessing as to which dangerous substance or other contraband they may encounter.
Unfortunately, anyone who observes the governmental agencies, or knows how the government typically operates, is able to ascertain the governmental agencies' practices and actions. This increases the threat from those intentionally creating these dangerous substances for nefarious reasons. The same dangerous situation occurs with those who ignorantly ship dangerous or hazardous substances. In both instances, limited deployment of multiple types of detectors increases the threat to harm to people and property.
Non-governmental agencies (NGA) also require systems capable of detecting and monitoring hazardous chemicals and biological substances quickly enough to prevent an accident, Similar to the government agency approach, the larger number of detectors required by the NGA increases the logistical footprint and associated expenses. When the NGA employs a single detector, they decide the most probable hazardous chemical or biological substance they will encounter. Unfortunately, chemicals and biological substances can change their properties when they are mixed, or when they contact other substances. To protect against the range of different types hazards requires several afferent types of detectors.
Of the known detectors, most use a porous membrane coated with a chemical or reporter. The selected reporters will respond to analytes carried by a gas. A sample interacts with the reporter, creating a specific response, such as fluorescing or undergoing a color change. The detection occurs as the sample flows through the porous membrane.
A detector and system is needed that can detect more than one explosive, chemical, biological substance and/or a combination thereof. Additionally, such a system needs to be lightweight, easily deployed, and reduce the consumable expenses by reducing the number of consumable elements. The easily portable multi-analyte detection system needs to minimize the impact of untargeted contaminates, as well as, decreasing the complexity for the end user, and decreasing the intervals between trade-outs of the consumable. Rapid detection of these substances saves lives and property.